Marriage and Family

Daniela Okafor, M
4MA8

REFLECTION PAPER: WAWEL AND MILAS STORY

Marriage as I have learnt is not just signing a legal contract but also a covenant
between God and the couples. The couples make an oath before God to love and
care for each other in sickness and health for better or for worse. The problem is
that the for worse, poorer, in sickness part of the marriage vows is the furthest
thing from the minds of couples when they say their marriage vows and if at all it
crosses their minds, they dismiss it as something that will happen to someone else.
And then somewhere along the way, expectations are met with realities of life which
make marriage very difficult like in the case of Wawel where he has to deal with his
wifes disability as he struggles to live a normal life.
First, we must realize that marriage will not always be a bed of roses. All marriages
will have conflict of some sort somewhere along the way. It takes a great deal of
effort like one portrayed by Wawel in the story to overcome trials and tribulations in
marriage. Wawel never stopped caring for his wife nor did he stop loving her despite
her serious illness. We learn from his story that love is something that needs to be
nurtured, cared for so it never burns out. Patience and tolerance is very important in
marriage especially in one where a partner suffers a chronic illness. As devastating
as it was for Wawel, he did not give in to his frustrations.
Marriage for me is a compromise. It is putting the others need above yours. Are you
always happy with it? Certainly not, but if you truly loved the person you will be
willing to sacrifice certain things to make he/she happy. According to the bible,
marriage is about two people becoming ONE. You cannot always have it your own
way. You have to agree to do things one way or the other. Otherwise, it wont work
and what usually follows is a divorce.
Like Wawel, we should try not take out our frustrations on our spouse. Its like
adding salt to their wounds. Challenges and hindrances in life makes us to lose faith
in God. Perhaps, God is putting our faith to the test. See is our as a time to prove
our faith is genuine. Present your frustrations to God. If God put you to it, He will
see you through it.

Marriage and Family

Christ said in Matthew 11:28-30, Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden,

and I will give you rest.